Anderson, IN

 9/29/21 Fox channel 59:

ANDERSON, Ind. — An Anderson woman shot and killed a man suspected of breaking into her home overnight.

911 dispatchers received a call from a female homeowner in the 1300 block of E. 8th Street around 12:47 a.m. The woman told police there was a break-in at the home, and she shot the suspected burglar.

By the time police arrived, they found the alleged suspect dead in an upstairs bedroom.

With home surveillance cameras rolling, prosecutors insist a man forced his way into the woman’s home.

“Neighbors had videos of him parking in front of the residence and looking through windows, ultimately breaking through the door and pulling a weapon out,” said Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings.

Prosecutor Cummings says the suspect could also be heard on video asking for money and pretending to be law enforcement.

“There was audio, and you could hear what he was saying inside. He said, ‘It’s the police.’ He was claiming to be police officer, but he had a mask on,” said Cummings.

Fort Bend, IN

12/25/16 ABC Channel 13:

The man went into his kitchen around 4:45 a.m. and noticed on his security cameras that someone was outside his home.

He asked his wife to call police while he went outside to confront the suspect.

"I carry weapons and I have a few magazines in the vehicle and I have a holster and I have ammo. A few boxes of ammo," he said. "He had his left hand full of some of my stuff and with his right hand, I was unable to determine whether or not he was putting something into his pocket or if he was pulling something out of his pocket."

East Chicago, IN

From 11/08/14 NWI Times:

EAST CHICAGO | A 34-year-old Hammond man was shot and killed in East Chicago on Saturday afternoon in a case police believe was an act of self-defense.

Isaac R. Thomas, of the 7200 block of Arkansas Avenue, was pronounced dead at St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago at 12:48 p.m. Saturday, Lake County coroner's office investigators said.

The cause of death was listed as a gunshot wound suffered in a homicide in the 4000 block of Grand Boulevard in East Chicago.

East Chicago Police Chief Mark Becker the shooting appeared to be in retaliation for a domestic disturbance Friday in Hammond. A woman was assaulted in the Hammond case, he said.

Indiana: Armed homeowner stops enraged man

Whiteland, Indiana

From WISH of August 13, 2009

Armed homeowner stops enraged man

A Columbus resident is accused of trying to break into a rural Whiteland home.

Patrick F. Ianni, 33, 4440 Post-horn Court, Columbus, was arrested on charges of residential entry and public intoxication.

At about 1:40 a.m. Thursday, Ianni kicked the door of a rural Whiteland home and broke the door jam but walked away after the owner threatened to shoot him if he entered the home, according to a police report.

"The only smart decision he made was not to enter that home," Johnson County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Doug Cox said. "He's alive today because he didn't enter that house."

Ianni had visited a comedy club in Indianapolis with his girlfriend earlier that night and they got into a fight, according to a police report. He demanded to be let out of the vehicle and she let him out near the Whiteland Road interchange of Interstate 65.

He woke two rural Whiteland residents by pounding on their door. He claimed he was a police officer who wanted to ask them a question.

The homeowner warned Ianni that he had a gun and would shoot him if he entered the house and Ianni responded that he had a knife and would stab the homeowner.

A sheriff's deputy found Ianni staggering down the road with a bloody nose and he asked the officer if he could give him a ride.

Ianni yelled at officers, threat-ened to beat them up and told them he was a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who just wanted to ask the homeowners a question, according to the police report. The sheriff's office checked with the FBI, who confirmed that Ianni isn't an agent.

He's being held at the Johnson County jail on $4,000 bond.

Lafayette, Indiana Armed Robbers Get A Surprise

Lafayette, Indiana

From the July 17, 2009 Lafayette (Ind.) Journal & Courier:

Investigators here plan to contact authorities in northwest Indiana to help locate three suspects in a Craigs-list exchange that turned into an armed robbery earlier this month.

Eugene A. Hall, 49, of Gary; Edward D. Mercer, 27, of Hammond; and Jarrod E. Rodriguez, 26, of Gary were each charged Thursday with six felony counts.

Warrants were issued out of Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 for their rearrest.

The criminal allegations stem from a shooting July 1 outside a Subway restaurant at 3990 Indiana 38 E. in Lafayette. No one was injured after at least six rounds were fired.

Here's what took place, according to a probable cause affidavit filed with the charges:

Hall, Mercer and Rodriguez had arranged to meet in the Subway parking lot to purchase tires and rims listed on Craigslist by two Indianapolis men.

But after agreeing upon a purchase price of $3,100 and handing over the cash, two of the buyers pulled handguns and demanded the money back.

Guns were held to both victims' heads. One of them, Kyle Delord Bostic, also was armed.

Shots were then fired by both parties.

The La-fayette Police Department stopped a van that Hall, Mercer and Rodriguez were in shortly after on Indiana 38 East. Tires and rims allegedly taken during the exchange were in the back seat.

Officers found a revolver and ammunition near the road that a witness said the three men had discarded there.

Detective Mark Pinkard said Thursday criminal charges will not be pursued against Bostic or the other Indianapolis man, Courtney Robinson, because their shots were fired in self-defense.

Bostic also was properly licensed for his firearm.

"We deemed it as a life-preserving measure on their part," Pinkard said.

Indiana: Gunshot scares off intruder

Richmond, Indiana

From the Palladium Item of May 30, 2009

Gunshot scares off intruder

A Richmond woman thwarted a break-in early Friday by firing a warning shot from a gun.

"She confronted him at the door," Richmond Police Chief Kris Wolski said Friday. "She fired one shot to scare the person off."

Wolski doesn't think the incident is linked to a series of home invasions and sexual assaults of women that have plagued Richmond for about two years.

The 41-year-old female resident in the 200 block of North 21st Street heard a noise and rushed to get the semiautomatic gun, he said. Wolski said her possession and use of the gun was lawful.

Police were called to the scene at 1 a.m. The suspect was wearing a baseball cap under a hoodie, but that's about all the victim could see, Wolski said.

"Hopefully the neighbors saw something," he said. "We're doing more scene processing and getting statements."

At least eight attacks have been attributed to a man who stands about 5 feet 5 inches and strikes in the early morning hours while wearing a mask and dark hoodie.

Four more attacks are possibly linked. His female victims have ranged from a teen-ager to an 81-year-old woman.

Wolski acknowledged that the attacks are on the minds of residents, including Friday's victim.

"She was aware of the other incidents," he said. "Everyone is at a heightened level of awareness."

The police department is getting numerous calls each day with tips about potential suspects in the attacks.

"I think we are making headway," Wolski said.

Indiana: Suspect in home invasion robbery shot during struggle

Evansville, Indiana

From the Courier Press of June 7, 2009

Suspect in home invasion robbery shot during struggle

A 21-year-old Evansville man was shot in the hand this afternoon as he wrestled with a man he was trying to rob, authorities said.

Bassil Mohammad Kamali was booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail after being checked out at Deaconess Hospital for a minor wound.

He is being held without bond pending an initial court appearance Monday. Preliminary charges are listed as robbery with a firearm, armed burglary, intimidation with a weapon and criminal recklessness, all felonies.

Evansville Police Department Sgt. Greg Motz said Kamali was armed with a handgun when he knocked on the victim's door in the 900 block of Douglas Drive. It happened shortly before 2 p.m.

Motz said Kamali, who also lives in the area, heard that the victim had just sold a stereo and believed he had cash on him.

The victim was asleep and his two children - ages 6 and 8 - answered the door. The children started screaming when the armed suspect barged in, Motz said.

"(Then the victim) comes out and wrestles with the guy with the gun and pushes him out," Motz said. "At some point, the gun goes off and shoots the suspect in the hand."

A man nearby heard the children screaming for help during the struggle, Motz said. He then stopped Kamali from fleeing and physically held him on scene until authorities arrived.

"The guy jumped over the privacy fence when he heard the kids screaming," Motz said. "It was a heroic act."

Hit And Run Driver Apprehended At Gunpoint

South Bend, Indiana

From the May 8, 2009 South Bend Tribune:

MISHAWAKA — Two young girls, sisters, were in critical condition late Thursday after being run down earlier in the evening while crossing the street arm-in-arm after playing with friends.

The driver reportedly attempted to flee, but was stopped at gunpoint by a man who witnessed the accident.

According to witnesses, the two girls, ages 4 and 6, were crossing 11th Street at Dodge Street about 7:18 p.m. when a man traveling west on 11th in a blue Chevrolet Lumina struck both of them at about 40 mph.

"No sooner had they crossed the street than I heard tires lock up and, 'Boom! Boom!,'æ" said Alan Knepp, who was standing just up the street when the girls were hit.

Knepp said the younger girl passed quickly beneath the vehicle, but her older sister rode the hood for several seconds before falling beneath the front end and then under both driver's side tires.

The girls behind him, the driver then hit the gas, witnesses said, but stopped when Knepp, who was legally carrying a gun, jumped in front of the vehicle and trained his weapon on it.

Approached by Knepp, the driver reportedly said the girls had jumped out in front of him. He then handed his keys to Knepp and stood silently next to his vehicle until police arrived.

The girls, meanwhile, lay nearly lifeless in the road, witnesses said. The younger one initially was not breathing, and the older one's limbs and neck were badly twisted.

Fetched by a neighbor, the girls' mother arrived moments later and reportedly passed out at the sight of her daughters' motionless bodies.

Both girls were rushed by ambulance to Memorial Hospital in South Bend with critical injuries, Mishawaka police Capt. Pasquale Rulli said. One was immediately admitted into surgery, he said, and the other flown to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.

Indiana: Man shot by homeowner after attempted break-in

Evansville, Indiana

From WFIE of March 15, 2009

Man shot by homeowner after attempted break-in

An Evansville man was shot after, police say, he tried to break into a home.

The home-owner said the man broke through the back door, and that's when he shot the intruder, but the story doesn't stop there.

The intruder was then run-down by his own get-away car.

Neighbors said police were on the scene for several hours processing evidence and looking for clues that would help them track down the accomplices.

Sunday mornings events aren't easily forgotten.

"I looked out my peephole and saw a man head to toe in blood," neighbor Katherine Vessels said.

Evansville police said it all started at 5:00 Sunday morning when 26-year-old Derek Shaun Clark kicked in the door of Derrick Murray's home on East Riverside Drive.

Police said the suspect entered the home and told the victim he was police.

Murray said he could tell from the tone of his voice something wasn't right.

"They were talking in street slang, so I ran to my bedroom to get my rifle and as he came in with his hand-gun drawn I, I just fired at him," Murray said.

Police said Clark stumbled out of the house leaving a trail of blood behind him.

He attempted to get in his get-away car, but neighbors said he never made it inside.

"The white car was parked in front of my house and they backed up and ran over him and then he backed up and then they backed up into the alley and into him again," Vessels said. "Then, they took off."

Vessels said she now fears for the safety of her children, and is considering moving out.

"It just blows my mind that that would happen right in front of my house like that," Vessels said. "I have three kids, I wouldn't want that around anybody's kids."

Still shaken up, Murray said he's here to stay, and also said if those crooks come back, they better beware.

"I think a family man is the most dangerous person because they've got more to lose like I do," Murray said.

Clark is in intensive care at St. Mary's.

In 2003 he was convicted of drunk driving and in 2007 he was convicted for possession of marijuana.

Detectives said they will release an official statement regarding Sunday's shooting on Monday.

Bullets Work When Restraining Order Doesn't in Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana

From January 26, 2009 WHTR-TV:

Indianapolis - A restraining order didn't keep a woman's ex-boyfriend from breaking into her home this morning, where she shot him.

Wounded and in handcuffs, 32-year-old Jeffery Seats was taken first to Wishard Hospital, then to jail.

"She's got a right to protect herself and her children and he forced his way in there, so she shot him," said IMPD Lt. Jeff Duhammel.

Around 11:30 Sunday morning, police say Seats kicked in his ex-girlfriend's door at the Cold Springs Manor apartment complex. He grabbed her and hit her with a chair, all in the presence of their two young children.

"She gets away from him, goes upstairs, grabs a gun and then, either he was pursuing her upstairs but she fired a shot, just graze wounds on his head. That's when he takes off," Lt. Duhammel said.

Police found Seats' pick-up truck at an apartment complex at 59th and Georgetown Road. They found Seats upstairs in one of the apartments at a friend's home.

"They observe the truck here, they see blood inside the truck, he comes to the door and he is wounded to the head," Lt. Duhammel said.

Police say the couple has a history of domestic violence and that the woman had a restraining order against Seats.

Indiana: Suspected robber dies in liquor store shooting

Fort Wayne, Indiana

From WSJV of January 22, 2009

Suspected robber dies in liquor store shooting

Fort Wayne police are investigating a shooting at a liquor store that left a suspected robber dead and a store clerk wounded.

The shooting occurred Wednesday afternoon at Belmont Beverage on the city's south side.

Police spokesman Mike Joyner says the store employee was shot in the leg and was hospitalized in fair condition Wednesday night.

Police say the robbery suspect entered the store and demanded money. When police arrived, they found him lying in the middle of the street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Joyner says the shots were fired inside the building. He says the suspect was armed with a handgun, which was found at the scene.

The names of the robbery suspect and store employee were not immediately released.

Indiana: National media seek out South Bend woman

South Bend, Indiana

From the South Bend Tribune of January 10, 2009

National media seek out South Bend woman

Sandra Hochstedler, the 70-year-old woman who held an intruder at gunpoint earlier this week, is out of the hospital and making the media rounds.

On Friday afternoon, a production crew with the news magazine Inside Edition visited Hochstedler's home to re-create the harrowing standoff for a segment to air on the show.

"It was quite a production. It was really interesting," Hochstedler said early Friday evening, shortly after the crew and host Les Trent had left her Portage Road home in northern St. Joseph County. "I really had to act. It was almost like I was in a studio."

"I'm hoping it will be inspiring to others," she said of the reason she agreed to film the segment, "to let them know that they can do this, that they can protect their homes. And if it comes to it, they can take extreme action."

On Sunday evening, as Hochstedler was hauling firewood from her garage into her home, a man reportedly came running at her from the street and chased her inside.

She grabbed her gun and dialed 911, she said, and after the man burst through her living room window she held him at gunpoint until police arrived, threatening to shoot him dead if he moved.

The story was immediately picked up by local media outlets, and soon, the national media came calling as well.

Besides Inside Edition, Hochstedler said she has been contacted by ABC News, Good Morning America, and the Fox News morning show Fox and Friends.

Although flattered, Hochstedler said she is still a bit baffled by all of the attention.

"It takes my breath away," she said her newfound celebrity, "because I'm like, 'What? How did it get national attention? What is the big deal about? Doesn't everyone try to protect their home?'æ"

Hochstedler said she has been slow in responding to some requests for interviews because she was only released from the hospital on Thursday. She was taken there Sunday evening after complaining of chest pains.

"By the time I was done being a tough woman and yelling at (the intruder) like I wasn't afraid, I sat down at the dining room table and it just all came out of me," she recalled.

At the hospital, Hochstedler said, doctors informed her she had actually suffered a heart attack and needed to have a cardiac catheter inserted to check for arterial blockage.

"I was resisting having it," she said of the procedure, explaining that she doesn't normally require a lot of "doctoring," "but they told me this was life threatening, that part of my heart had already died."

"It was due to shock," she continued. "It happens to people sometimes. That's what they call being scared to death."

Now that she's feeling better, Hochstedler said she wants to help others. As vice president of the German Township Neighborhood Association, she said she'd like to organize seminars to educate her neighbors on how to better secure their homes and protect themselves and their families.

Indiana: Police: Man shoots, kills suspect in Hammond robbery attempt

Hammond, Indiana

From the Northwest Indiana Times of January 12, 2009

Police: Man shoots, kills suspect in Hammond robbery attempt

An attempted robbery early Sunday morning turned fatal for one of the suspects, police said.

A 38-year-old man and his girlfriend were exiting their sport-utility vehicle in the parking lot of McTavern's bar in the 7400 block of Indianapolis Boulevard when two people attempted to rob the couple, according to a Hammond police news release.

Another person is believed to have been an accomplice in the attempted robbery, Police Chief Brian Miller said.

The owner of the vehicle took a handgun from the SUV and shot one of the suspects in the chest, the release states. The shooting victim died at the scene before Hammond Fire Department personnel could provide further treatment and he could get to a hospital.

Kenneth Denson, 17, of the 600 block of East 131st Street in Chicago, was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the chest about 1:30 a.m., a Lake County coroner's office spokeswoman said Sunday.

The second robbery suspect and an accomplice fled from the scene in a vehicle and traveled north on Indianapolis Boulevard into East Chicago, where they crashed and police apprehended them. Miller said an illegal narcotic drug was found in the vehicle.

Police said the investigation continues. The man who shot Denson has cooperated with police and has turned over his handgun.

Charges could be filed today against the other two suspects in custody, Miller said.

In September, a 40-year-old Gary man, Eric Lowe, was shot and killed outside of McTavern's following a dispute. Lowe was a security worker for the bar.

From the Northwest Indiana Times of January 12, 2009

Police: Statements support self defense claim in fatal shooting

Hammond police believe a man who shot and killed a would-be robber outside of a bar there early Sunday legitimately acted in self defense.

Hammond Police Chief Brian Miller said the 38-year-old Gary man was released after providing a statement to police about the incident.

"We do believe that his version of the story is true and credible," Miller said, adding that the man had a valid license to carry the weapon and purchased it legally.

Statements from witnesses to the attempted robbery and shooting assisted as well, he said.

"We had some outstanding participation by witnesses," Miller said.

(More)

Indiana: Victim, intruder shot in home invasion

Indianapolis, Indiana

From the Indy Star of October 18, 2008

Victim, intruder shot in home invasion

An apparent home invasion left both the Near-Eastside resident as well as the alleged intruder hospitalized with gunshot wounds, police said today.

Jason Kennedy, 25, was listed in serious but stable condition at Wishard Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound to the head.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigators said that after being shot, Kennedy fired back at his alleged attacker, Thomas King, 29, of McCordsville. King was listed in critical condition at Wishard.

According to an IMPD news release, Kennedy and a group of friends had been sitting on a porch in the 200 block of North Eastern Avenue early today when they were approached by King and another man, and began arguing with them.

Police said the men returned to the residence about 5:50 a.m. and robbed Kennedy and one of his companions at gunpoint.

According to the news release, "it appears that King, while robbing the two individuals, pointed his gun at Kennedy and shot him in the head. Kennedy then pulled out his gun and returned fire, hitting King.''

Police found both King and Kennedy outside the residence. Investigators said they were still seeking King's alleged accomplice in the incident.

Indiana: Clerk’s shots miss robber

Muncie, Indiana

From the Star Press of September 17, 2008

Clerk’s shots miss robber

Indiana law allows Hoosiers to defend themselves, even with deadly force, and Tuesday morning a woman working behind the counter of Zipp's Deli did just that.

Police said she fired shots at a teen who jumped the counter and tried to take money from her cash register. Even though the black male suspect never showed a weapon, he and the clerk struggled before he eventually got away, said Muncie Police Department Lt. Al Williams.

Police are continuing their search for him, as well as for another young black man who was waiting across Madison Street. Witnesses said the two fled on foot to 613 E. Fifth St., an apparently abandoned home just a block away from the store.

By the time Williams and other officers arrived there, all they found was a disheveled home. The front and back doors both were knocked off their hinges and standing open, and the house was full of junk and trash. The attempted robbery suspect is described as a young black man, likely in his teens, between 5', 6" and 5', 8. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt.

The clerk was not injured.

Williams declined to say how many bullets were fired. And though there's a bullet hole in the front door of the convenience store, it's unknown whether the suspect was hit.

Zipp's is a frequent stop for local police. Since Oct. 10, 2000, police have been called to the store at 425 E. Willard St. 360 times. Many of those calls are for traffic problems or minor infractions, but records indicate Tuesday's attempted robbery was the third of 2008, and the eighth of the past eight years.

This isn't the first time a Zipp's clerk has fired a gun at a robber. A convicted bandit was shot by a clerk in March 2002 after he robbed the store. He was later found, injured, in a home, along with cash that had been taken from the store.

And while prosecutors are leery of making comments that could sound like an endorsement of violence, there are laws, here in Indiana and elsewhere, that allow victims of crimes to protect themselves.

When Gov. Mitch Daniels signed new legislation in 2006, it didn't bring a massive change. Instead, it clarified that a person can defend himself with a weapon and doesn't have to run away from the suspect first.

Gary, Indiana Burglar Shot

Gary, Indiana

From the September 8, 2008 Gary Post-Tribune:

GARY -- The shadowy figure in the kitchen window didn't answer Saturday night when confronted by the homeowner who shouted repeated warnings.

So it wasn't until after the burglar was shot trying to run out the back door that the homeowner discovered he'd wounded his second cousin.

"He told me he yelled, 'I'm armed, I called the police,' but the man inside never said anything," Detective Jeff Hornyak said Sunday.

Todd K. Godfrey, 46, was shot in the wrist about 10:20 p.m. by his relative, 51-year-old Tarold Blakey, as he tried to leave through a basement door.

Blakey said he and his fiance had returned to his home in the 2500 block of Tyler Street and saw a silhouette in the kitchen. He called police, then shouted to the intruder, police said.

When Blakey realized the man was trying to flee, he fired a single warning shot.

"That's when the guy finally says something," Hornyak said.

Police found the house had been ransacked, but nothing appeared to be missing.

Indiana: Man Holds Would-Be Robber At Gunpoint

Muncie, Indiana

From the Indy Channel of September 2, 2008

Man Holds Would-Be Robber At Gunpoint

A Muncie man whose home was burglarized Monday held a would-be robber at gunpoint after waiting in the dark for two hours to see if the burglars would return, police said.

Michael Angel returned home Monday evening to find his back door open and several items missing from his home, 6News' Jennifer Carmack reported.

He said he called police to make a report and then talked to neighbors, who said they'd seen a few people and a black pickup truck near his home that day.

Angel said he wanted to see if the burglars would come back, so he sat in a back room in the dark with his gun. After two hours, Angel said he saw a pickup truck that matched his neighbors' pull up to the back of the house.

"I heard the guy enter the house and he was shuffling through stuff in my room," he said.

Angel said he walked down the hall with his rifle, cocked the gun and turned on the light.

"I started screaming at him and he dove onto the ground," he said. "I didn't want to shoot anybody, but I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if the guy had a gun or not."

Angel said he called 911 and held the man -- later identified as Michael Boykin, 50 -- at gunpoint until police arrived.

"I think people around here should take a lesson and be more vigilant of the neighborhood and not rely so much on the police, because they're busy enough, and rely more on themselves and their neighbors," Angel said.

Boykin was arrested and preliminarily charged with burglary. Police said he has a lengthy criminal history, including a previous burglary conviction and several other theft arrests. Police are investigating if he may be connected to several other break-ins in the area.

Indiana: 2 Shot In Apparent Apartment Break-In

Indianapolis, Indiana

From the Indy Channel of August 18, 2008

2 Shot In Apparent Apartment Break-In

Two people were shot in a home break-in early Monday morning at an apartment complex on Indianapolis' east side.

Indianapolis Metro police were called to 42nd Street and Post Road just after 1 a.m.

Police said they found two men had been shot. One was believed to be a resident of the apartment complex and the other was possibly an intruder, officers said.

The resident was struck in the head and the other man was hit in the chest. Their injuries were believed to be serious but not life-threatening.

"There was possibly a break-in through the rear of the house," said IMPD Detective Kevin Duley. "Two occupants were in the apartment at the time of the break-in."

Police said they think the two men traded shots. The other resident who was not hurt was questioned as police hoped to determine if any other people were involved.

Indiana: Road rage shooting being called self-defense

Jeffersonville, Indiana

From WAVE3 of June 17, 2008

Road rage shooting being called self-defense

Police are calling it a case of violent road rage after a man is shot at a Jeffersonville, Indiana intersection. WAVE 3's Scott Harvey reports on the incident that happened at the corner of Allison Lane and 10th Street around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

It is a case of road rage with a twist. Detectives working the case tell us the shooter hasn't been charged, because it appears to be a case of self defense.

It's not the sort of thing you normally see on your commute home from work.

"People were standing in the parking lot. Nobody was doing anything, but talking on cell phones, so I told my girlfriend I was going to walk over and see what was going on," said Robert Bagshaw. "As I got closer the guy was talking about he'd been shot."

Investigators say it started as an altercation between a man riding a motorcycle and a woman driving a SUV behind him.

"He said they came flying up on him when he was getting ready to turn," said Bagshaw. "So he slowed down on his turn, next thing you know they rolled up a little bit more. They had a few words. He jumped off his bike."

"She never got out of the vehicle and that is where the shooting occurred," said Det. Todd Hollis with the Jeffersonville Police Department.

Bagshaw says the man had a single gunshot to the chest. He waited with the motorcycle rider until EMS arrived. He told us the man kept talking about the argument at the car.

"Supposedly she thought he had spit at her, but he said his false teeth fell out, so she shot him," explained Bagshaw. "So, I mean, there may be a little more to it than what the other guy is saying of course."

And investigators say there is. No charges have been filed against the woman, because police say at this point it appears to be self-defense.

"Exactly what he said or what his actions were, how threatening they were, will be determined through the investigation," said Det. Hollis.

Det. Hollis told us the woman was completely cooperative. So much so she called 911 from the scene. Police say she does have a permit to carry the snub-nosed .38 caliber revolver used in the shooting.

"It does belong to her," said Det. Hollis. "We ran a check on it to make sure it's wasn't stolen. She does carry it in the car for her protection. She told us that."

Regardless, Det. Hollis says this should be a lesson on how not to deal with road rage.

"If someone cuts you off or if someone acts aggressive on the road, the best thing to do is get away from it," said Det. Hollis. "If they are acting aggressive to a point to where they are dangerous, call police."

The man was taken to University Hospital in Louisville and at last check was in surgery. His condition is unknown at this time.

Police say they will continue to investigate, but ultimately the Clark County Prosecutor's Office will have the final say if charges will be filed.

Indiana: Man shoots dog that ran out of house at him

Fort Wayne, Indiana

From the News Sentinel of June 16, 2008

Man shoots dog that ran out of house at him

Jose Aquila said his pit bull was just trying to protect his 2-year-old when she was shot and killed about 7:40 p.m. Monday.

Aquila said the 6-year-old pit bull, Sapphire, charged out of his house at 4445 Schmucker Drive and began barking at a man who was holding Jose Jr.'s hand to keep him from running into the street. The man, who has a permit to carry a concealed pistol, fired twice from close range, striking Sapphire in the neck and spine and grazing his own toe, according to Aquila.

“She never bit him. She was just kind of warning him to get away,” Aquila said. “She seen a stranger grabbing my son.”

Aquila said before the shooting the man came to his backyard to ask if he owned a missing pit bull roaming the neighborhood. Aquila, who said he was holding Sapphire on a leash with Jose Jr. nearby at the time, said he didn't own the dog, and the man then inquired about the approximately one-month-old puppies Sapphire had.

While Aquila put Sapphire inside the house, Jose Jr. ran in front of the house. Aquila said Sapphire then ran out the front door. Seconds later he heard two shots.

The man told Fort Wayne Police he backpedaled as the dog came charging out of the home, but he fell on his back and the dog started coming for his feet. “I knew (it was going) to bite me, so I pulled out my pistol and shot it twice,” the man said in the report.

Aquila said Sapphire had never bitten anyone and was not normally an aggressive dog. Aquila said police told him the man - whom The News-Sentinel could not reach for comment - will not be charged because he had a right to defend himself. The police report confirmed the man would not be charged.